on the sunday street a stranger
someone i had never seen
abruptly unexpectedly stopped me

it seems more rain is coming he remarked
yes it’s been endless i politely agreed

without taking a deep breath stopping for
an instant he continued quickly talking
afraid i would turn not hear him walk away

said it had been a happy easter he had
learned his sister gave birth to triplets in
paducah this morn

how beautiful the baby girls were reported
to be how he couldn’t wait to hold see them
they were a blessing gift precious to him his family

excited exuberant joyful unable to contain
glee happiness he needed had to tell share
with someone anyone news he received today
stranger on the street

Nancy Bruner Wilson holds degrees from Berea College in Kentucky and from Tulane University Graduate School of Social Work in New Orleans. She was a medical social worker for the American Red Cross and served a year in an air evacuation hospital in Vietnam during the height of the war. Nancy also worked for the New York City Department of Social Services in the South Bronx. Today, she is retired from the Kentucky Department of Social Services and has lived with her husband Howard Wilson, an artist, on Cherokee Road for the past 25 years. Nancy and Howard have published a book titled “breaking out” featuring her poetry and his artwork. “I have always written in my head but began to put words on paper a few years ago to satisfy a long desired ambition,” says Nancy. “It fulfills a creative need like nothing has before.” Nancy can be reached at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
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